Budgetary cuts in the health service are being given priority over patient care, the main union representing nurses said today.
The Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation said its members had "never been more frustrated" at the failings of the system to listen to and act on what they are saying and it warned of increased mortality rates in Irish hospitals unless things change.
Nurses and midwives from around the country have gathered in Dublin for a conference on maintaining safe practice and patient care.
The union's general secretary Liam Doran raised concerns about the further cuts which he worries could lead to ever decreasing patient care.
"At the moment I don't see any floor for the Irish health service, we still have the moratorium in place, we still have beds closed on an increasing basis, we still have community services being cut back and now we are told x hundreds of millions more has to come out for the fourth year in a row," he told the event. "All we are told is 'you have to do more with even less next year'. That can't happen."
Guest speakers from the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in England addressed the conference on the difficulties encountered there when finance was over-prioritised by management.
Mike Gill, former finance director and deputy chief executive of the trust, noted the essential role that frontline staff play in highlighting issues within health services. The inquiry into the trust found that poor standards put patients at risk and that between 400 and 1,200 patients had died unnecessarily from 2005 to 2008.
Mr Gill condemned what he called a "culture of non-reporting" and encouraged Irish nurses and midwives to continue to speak out about the issues they encountered at the frontline of the health service.
Yesterday, the union claimed the Irish health service was under "unbearable pressure" and had lost nearly 3,000 nurses and midwives in addition to the closure of 2,317 beds.
Today's conference is continuing this afternoon with further speakers from Mid Staffordshire due throughout the day. The conference will also hear from solicitor Ruth O'Connor on fitness-to-practise and management consultant Miriam Wiltshire on leadership.